1. Union Grove High School: S. Hurtte
Dystopian Society
Union Grove High School: S. Hurtte

2. Definition and Characteristics
Dystopias, through an exaggerated
worst-case scenario, make a criticism about a current trend, societal norm, or
political system.

3. CHARACTERISTICS AND DEFINITION
Utopia
Dystopia
A place, state, or condition that is ideally perfect in respect of politics,
laws, customs, and conditions.
A futuristic, imagined universe in which oppressive societal control and the illusion of a perfect society are maintained through corporate, bureaucratic, technological, moral, or totalitarian control

4. Characteristics of a Dystopian Society
• Propaganda is used to control the citizens of society.
• Information, independent thought, and freedom are restricted.
• A figurehead or concept is worshipped by the citizens of the society.
• Citizens are perceived to be under constant surveillance.

5. Characteristics of a Dystopian Society
• Citizens have a fear of the outside world.
• Citizens live in a dehumanized state.
• The natural world is banished and distrusted.
• Citizens conform to uniform expectations. Individuality and dissent are bad.
• The society is an illusion of a perfect utopian world.

6. Types of Dystopian Controls
Most dystopian works present a world in which oppressive societal control and the illusion of a perfect society are maintained through one or more of the following types of controls:
Corporate
Bureaucratic
Technological
Philosophical or Religious

7. Corporate Control
One or more large corporations control society through
products, advertising, and/or the media.
Examples include Minority Report
and Running Man.

8. Bureaucratic Control
Society is controlled by a mindless bureaucracy through
a tangle of red tape, relentless regulations, and incompetent government
officials.
Examples in film include Brazil.

9. Technological Control
Society is controlled by technology—through computers, robots, and/or scientific means.
Examples include The Matrix, The Terminator, and I, Robot.

10. Philosophical or Religious Control
Society is controlled by philosophical or religious ideology often enforced through a dictatorship or theocratic
government.

11. The Dystopian Protagonist
• often feels trapped and is struggling to escape. • questions the existing social and political systems. • believes or feels that something is terribly wrong with the society in which he or she lives. • helps the audience recognizes the negative aspects of the dystopian world through his or her perspective.